All Forum Posts by: Thomas Jacobson

Thank you Theresa.  A few only had things set up to do an online request. A couple I called back and just couldn't get through and left a voicemail, but nothing. But I completely agree. It definitely shows something of how they operate and it's not worth any more time. We'll just move on to the next. And yes, either a quick reply that they are full up or a message on their website saying the same would be a minimum expectation, but I'm learning even that can't be counted on unfortunately. The big issue is our current, renovated home. It's near the UofM St. Paul campus and has literally one rental in the area that is not a student rental. It was pretty difficult for VSM to come up with a number, and he even admitted that he's flying a bit blind, but because of all of this he really did need to come see the house. Again, thanks for much for your response!

Thanks for your input. I do not think you are understanding correctly, however. Initially, I only had 1 company even respond to my request, the others we had to send in an online request and no one got back. We did send out another request late last night and that company already called us this morning and asked when they could come out to view the properties. I'm not sure how things work in the Detroit market, but from my limited experience here, either a PMC gets back to us immediately and asks to see the properties or they don't respond. In fact, the one that did come out was grateful to see it because as I mentioned we did a full reno and any updated information on the home is not out there to just find on the internet. He needed to see it in order to understand the updates that were done. Frankly, I very much appreciated this. All these PMCs are essentially bidding on a job, like a contractor would, and the ones that have responded have had no issues in asking us to set up a time to meet. This is not a paid service, they are doing this completely free of charge, it is simply a part of them trying to get our business. 

If you have any recommendations on PMCs in the Twin Cities Metro Area or have any advice on renting vs selling as my initial post requested, that would be appreciated. 

Thank you.

Hello,

I'm a complete newbie to rentals and anything landlord related. I'm looking to get some direction, advice, and/or wisdom on my rental situation. 

My wife and I are looking to relocate out of state by the end of the year, but would like to hold on to our 2 houses. About a month ago we started contacting property management companies to help us get the rental part moving, but this is where we've hit a road bump. We've contacted 4 property management companies so far and only 1 of them (VSM) followed through to come out and evaluate the properties. They have good reviews and seem like a great company, but it would be nice to have more than just the one rental analysis to help make our decision on not only how much to charge but who to use for a management company. I'd like to try to get at least one more evaluation so if anyone has a property management company they highly recommend, that info would be much appreciated. Our first house in Highland Park will make a great rental property with low operating expenses, but our current house in Saint Anthony Park is a higher-end, modernized home that would make an exceptional profit  if we sold it (as we did a complete renovation ourselves) but would be break-even or negative when renting. We're not sure if moving out of state would be long term or if we would return after a year. Our over all objective is to hold the house for equity growth and future financial freedom, but is it worth potentially just breaking even or having a small monthly expense to keep the homes? Financially we could cover the cost of the homes sitting vacant after we move if we do not find renters right away.  I plan on doing more research on Bigger Pockets, but any overall advice is great. I added the details and expected rent below.

About the homes:

I have a 1200 sqf 3 bed 2 bath house in the Highland Park neighborhood I purchased in 2010. This was my primary residence until 2022 and during those years I did a lot of renovations.

-Expected Rent $2200 month

I also have a 3000 sqf 4 bed 3.5 bath house in the Saint Anthony Park neighborhood in St. Paul that I purchased in 2020 and did a complete renovation with a 900 square foot 2 level addition. This has been our primary residence for over 2 years now.

-Expected rent (according to VSM) $3500 month

Thank you.